Soldiers kill 'dozens' of jihadists, some foreign

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By Waheedullah Massoud

KABUL, July 24, 2008 (AFP) — Afghan troops recovered the bodies of 34 Taliban-linked fighters after a fierce clash in southern Afghanistan Thursday, the defense ministry said, while police said the final toll was double that.

Fifteen Taliban and seven policemen were killed separately in other attacks, with violence linked to a nearly seven-year-long Taliban-led insurgency surging in recent weeks.

The clash erupted after "enemy elements" attacked Afghan forces in Zabul province on the main road between the capital Kabul and the southern city of Kandahar, defense ministry spokesman Mohammed Zahir Azimi told AFP.

"A fierce battle started and the enemy were caught between the Afghan army on both sides," Azimi said. "At least 34 enemy dead bodies are at the battlefield but we believe there are many more killed."

Azimi said dozens more militants were wounded or arrested in the clash while large numbers of weapons were left at the scene.

The interior ministry said however 70 militants were killed in the fighting in Shah Joy, which is about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the southern city of Kandahar.

"Today 70 enemies were killed in Shah Joy district of Zabul province by police and Afghan army and another four were arrested," it said in a statement.

Among the dead were two Arabs and four Chechens, it said.

Azimi would not confirm this figure, which is one of the highest in weeks in the internationally backed effort to fight extremist Islamic militants.

"Our commander on the ground told us that around 50 Taliban may have been killed but we have only 34 dead bodies on the battlefield so we can confirm that 34 Taliban were definitely killed," Azimi told AFP.